Atiku attacks Tinubu as agency destroys billboards

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the recently-concluded 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has slammed President Bola Tinubu over the destruction of billboards in strategic locations in the Federal Capital Territory drawing public attention to the judiciary as Nigerians await the verdict of the  Presidential Election Petition Court.

The Federal Government had disbanded the Secretariat of the Advertising Standard Panel due to its endorsement of billboards accused of attempting to manipulate the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal with the slogan, ‘All Eyes on the Judiciary.’

A statement by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria had earlier conveyed the dissolution of the panel on Tuesday.

The ASP, a statutory panel within the council, is tasked with ensuring that advertisements adhere to the prevailing laws of the federation and the code of ethics for advertising professionals.

Pointing out the reasons for which the advertisement should not have been approved, the statement said the concepts exposed were not approved by the Advertising Standards Panel, hence, the council had directed that all the materials being exposed be brought down immediately and the violators sanctioned.

The statement read, “The Advertising Standards Panel of the Council also erred in the approval of one of the concepts, as the advertisement failed to vet guidelines on the following grounds:

“The cause forming the central theme of the campaign in the advertisement is a matter pending before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. Hence, it’s jus pendis.

Source: punch